October 2, 2007          
                                                                  

Jacket Soccer Teams Remain in NSCAA Poll

BILLINGS, Mont. – Both soccer teams at Montana State University Billings are regionally ranked by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the second-straight week.  The Yellowjacket men slipped from No. 5 to No. 6 while the Lady Yellowjackets held at No. 9.

The Yellowjacket men snapped a three-game winless streak last Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Colorado Christian.  MSUB is in the midst of the best season in program history with an 8-2-1 overall record.  Along with seeking their first trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Yellowjackets are trying for the first winning season in school history.  The Jackets play at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and at Simon Fraser on Saturday.

The Lady Yellowjackets are 6-4-1 entering this week after splitting a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference road games last week.  They lost 1-0 to Seattle Pacific, ranked first in the Far West Region and third in the nation by the NSCAA.  MSUB picked up its first GNAC road win on Saturday, defeating Northwest Nazarene 3-1.  The Jackets face Rocky Mountain on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Daylis Stadium then host Seattle University at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the MSUB College of Technology.  Seattle is ranked third in the region and 15th in the nation by the NSCAA.

NSCAA Men’s Far West Region
1. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-2-0)
2. Seattle University (8-2-0)
3. Sonoma State (8-2-1)
4. Cal State Los Angeles (9-2-2)
5. Seattle Pacific (4-2-5)
6. Montana State Billings (8-2-1)
7. San Francisco State (7-5-0)
8. Western Washington (6-4-0)
9. Grand Canyon (4-4-3)
10. Cal State Monterey Bay (3-3-2)

NSCAA Women’s Far West Region
1. Seattle Pacific (12-0-0)
2. UC San Diego (8-0-2)
3. Seattle University (10-2-0)
4. Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-1-2)
4. Western Washington (7-2-1)
6. Chico State (6-3-1)
7. Sonoma State (6-4-0)
8. Cal Poly Pomona (5-4-0)
9. Montana State Billings (6-4-1)
10. Cal State Los Angeles (4-4-1)
10. BYU-Hawaii (5-2-0)

Note:  The NSCAA produces both national and regional polls for publicity purposes only.  The regional rankings by the coaches do not have bearing on which teams qualify for NCAA postseason play.  The NCAA regional advisory committees use a strength of schedule formula to determine official regional rankings and regional seeding for the NCAA Tournament. 

The men’s soccer RAC is scheduled to release polls on Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23, and Oct. 30 with the tournament pairings announced on Nov. 5.  The women’s soccer RAC is scheduled to release polls on Oct. 10, Oct. 17, Oct. 24, and Oct. 31 with tournament pairings announced on Nov. 5.  The top six women's teams and top four men's teams teams in each of NCAA Division II’s eight regions qualify for the NCAA Tournament.  For women only, the California Collegiate Athletic Association and Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions automatically qualify for the regional.